FCC Chairman Ajit Pai highlighted a "call to action" to improve tribal communications, noting the agency last week revamped a Native Nations Communications Task Force and sought member nominations by March 31. "This latest renewal recognizes the importance of tribal input on commission matters that impact Americans living on tribal lands," Pai told the National Congress of American Indians Thursday. He said the task force will consist of 20 tribal members and 11 senior FCC staffers. He said improving rural broadband, including in tribal areas, is one of his top priorities. "Americans living on tribal lands who lack access to high-speed broadband has been cut in half since I arrived at the commission in 2012," from 68 percent to 35 percent, he said. "The bad news is that that percentage is still over four times higher than for the overall U.S. population," only 8 percent of which lacks "internet access." He noted he called for a "tribal broadband factor" in high-cost USF support to boost tribal funding, as part of a draft NPRM and order, which would give over $500 million more to rural carriers (see 1801160040 and 1802150018). Separately, the Oglala Sioux Tribe said the FCC's Lifeline eligibility re-certification process "does not comport with tribal culture" and subscriber abilities, and tribal programs should be used as proxies, in a docket 11-42 filing Wednesday on a meeting representatives had with a Pai aide.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai highlighted a "call to action" to improve tribal communications, noting the agency last week revamped a Native Nations Communications Task Force and sought member nominations by March 31. "This latest renewal recognizes the importance of tribal input on commission matters that impact Americans living on tribal lands," Pai told the National Congress of American Indians Thursday. He said the task force will consist of 20 tribal members and 11 senior FCC staffers. He said improving rural broadband, including in tribal areas, is one of his top priorities. "Americans living on tribal lands who lack access to high-speed broadband has been cut in half since I arrived at the commission in 2012," from 68 percent to 35 percent, he said. "The bad news is that that percentage is still over four times higher than for the overall U.S. population," only 8 percent of which lacks "internet access." He noted he called for a "tribal broadband factor" in high-cost USF support to boost tribal funding, as part of a draft NPRM and order, which would give over $500 million more to rural carriers (see 1801160040 and 1802150018). Separately, the Oglala Sioux Tribe said the FCC's Lifeline eligibility re-certification process "does not comport with tribal culture" and subscriber abilities, and tribal programs should be used as proxies, in a docket 11-42 filing Wednesday on a meeting representatives had with a Pai aide.

The House Commerce Committee passed the FCC Reauthorization Act (HR-4986), now renamed in honor of recently deceased committee Staff Director Ray Baum (see 1802090018), on a voice vote Wednesday, after reaching a compromise on a manager's amendment on language to authorize additional repack funding. The manager's amendment, from House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., renamed HR-4986 the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act. House Commerce removed anticipated language from the Senate-passed Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (Mobile Now) Act (S-19) spectrum bill (see 1708030060) before releasing the amendment's text Tuesday.

The House Commerce Committee passed the FCC Reauthorization Act (HR-4986), now renamed in honor of recently deceased committee Staff Director Ray Baum (see 1802090018), on a voice vote Wednesday, after reaching a compromise on a manager's amendment on language to authorize additional repack funding. The manager's amendment, from House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., renamed HR-4986 the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act. House Commerce removed anticipated language from the Senate-passed Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (Mobile Now) Act (S-19) spectrum bill (see 1708030060) before releasing the amendment's text Tuesday.

A NARUC draft resolution backing reseller participation in the Lifeline program advanced at the state regulators' winter meeting. The consumer committee Sunday endorsed the draft to urge the FCC to continue to allow non-facilities-based Lifeline providers to continue to receive low-income telecom subsidies. Chairman Maida Coleman, a Missouri commissioner who sponsored the draft, told us Monday the action was unanimous. The panel didn't support a conflicting draft resolution that would welcome an FCC proposal to retarget Lifeline support to facilities-based providers but did endorse a nationwide number portability draft resolution, one of four telecom drafts being considered at the meeting (see 1801300023).

Competitive Carriers Association representatives met last week with aides to FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Brendan Carr on wireless siting. CCA said the FCC should decide small cells and distributed antenna system deployments are outside the scope of a “federal undertaking” under the National Historic Preservation Act. “CCA’s members continue to have a keen interest in reducing escalating fees and administrative delays presented by the … review process,” CCA said in docket 17-79. “Tribal fees and administrative burdens attached to the historic review process have escalated sharply in recent years, and these costs and permitting delays will continue to rise as CCA members deploy to meet consumers’ increasing data demands.” Members have faced tribal review fees from $250 to $1,650 a tribe per location, CCA said.

Many stakeholders backed hiking USF rural health care program funding support, while industry parties focused more on improving RHC efficiency and oversight. Dozens of comments were filed at the FCC Monday and last week in docket 17-310 on an NPRM on possibly increasing the program's $400 million annual cap and creating a prioritization mechanism if demand exceeds the cap, among other potential changes. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition urged increasing the cap to $800 million to reflect that potential participating providers more than doubled since 1997 when the current cap began. The American Hospital Association said the cap should be "significantly increased to keep pace with growing connectivity demand." Other healthcare interests and Alaskan entities, including tribal groups, backed an increase, citing the need to at least account for inflation. The NPRM "overlooks the significantly greater need for support on a per-location basis in Alaska's rural areas than in the rest of the nation," said Alaska Communications. USTelecom shared some FCC concerns with how the RHC program has operated in the lower 48 states, where "cases of waste, fraud, or abuse have come to light." The commission should focus on helping Universal Service Administrative Co. "detect and reject applications where federal universal service support is not needed" to meet statutory proposes, the telco group said. NCTA supported the promotion of telehealth in rural America "based on evidentiary data with a principal focus on defined needs and desired outcomes." NTCA said the FCC should provide better guidance to applicants, including on the specificity needed to describe requests for service support. "Ensure that satellite broadband services are eligible to equitably compete" for such money, said the Satellite Industry Association.

Many stakeholders backed hiking USF rural health care program funding support, while industry parties focused more on improving RHC efficiency and oversight. Dozens of comments were filed at the FCC Monday and last week in docket 17-310 on an NPRM on possibly increasing the program's $400 million annual cap and creating a prioritization mechanism if demand exceeds the cap, among other potential changes. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition urged increasing the cap to $800 million to reflect that potential participating providers more than doubled since 1997 when the current cap began. The American Hospital Association said the cap should be "significantly increased to keep pace with growing connectivity demand." Other healthcare interests and Alaskan entities, including tribal groups, backed an increase, citing the need to at least account for inflation. The NPRM "overlooks the significantly greater need for support on a per-location basis in Alaska's rural areas than in the rest of the nation," said Alaska Communications. USTelecom shared some FCC concerns with how the RHC program has operated in the lower 48 states, where "cases of waste, fraud, or abuse have come to light." The commission should focus on helping Universal Service Administrative Co. "detect and reject applications where federal universal service support is not needed" to meet statutory proposes, the telco group said. NCTA supported the promotion of telehealth in rural America "based on evidentiary data with a principal focus on defined needs and desired outcomes." NTCA said the FCC should provide better guidance to applicants, including on the specificity needed to describe requests for service support. "Ensure that satellite broadband services are eligible to equitably compete" for such money, said the Satellite Industry Association.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Chairman Ajit Pai exchanged barbs over what's holding up a long-pending tribal USF operational-expense relief order, after Clyburn's decision to change her vote to a partial dissent. Clyburn said the order should expand tribal broadband, but Pai said Clyburn's vote robbed the draft of a necessary third vote for an order that would increase tribal broadband funding.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Chairman Ajit Pai exchanged barbs over what's holding up a long-pending tribal USF operational-expense relief order, after Clyburn's decision to change her vote to a partial dissent. Clyburn said the order should expand tribal broadband, but Pai said Clyburn's vote robbed the draft of a necessary third vote for an order that would increase tribal broadband funding.